Perth City Swim Club has been working to keep members fit during lockdown by organising a month-long Olympic-themed challenge.
Swimmers and parents have been encouraged to log their home exercise efforts for a “virtual global tour” to the 23 summer Olympic cities.
More than 100 people have joined in the team effort and have covered more than 10,000 kilometres in under three weeks.
Coach Gordon Currie said: “When we knew we were going to be in lockdown for the month we came up with the May Challenge for our members.
“We know it is hard to keep training and exercising on your own, so this was a way of hopefully inspiring people to join in a team effort.”
Children and their parents have been reporting in every walk, run and cycle they undertake on a daily basis and posting pictures to the club’s social media streams.
They have been ticking off Olympic cities by distance from Perth, with London reached in the first two days.
Gordon said: “At the start we joked about making it to Rio, as we never thought enough people would work hard enough to cover more than 9,000 km.
“But with less than three weeks gone, the team have ‘reached’ 21 of the 23 Olympic cities and are now trying to make it to the final two in Australia.
“We’ve been giving a daily report on our progress and letting the kids know how far they have managed to go.
“It’s been a really impressive effort from everyone so far and hopefully they can manage the final 6,000 km to reach Sydney and Melbourne.
“It has been set up so everyone can contribute, whether they are going for long cycles or just having a walk around the park.
“We may be apart at the moment, but this has been a way of working together to keep spirits up at a tough time – especially for our youngsters.
“We hope we will be able to get back to the pool soon, but until then the club will try and keep everyone engaged and active.
“It is important for people to still feel that the club is supporting them and a lot of people are working behind the scenes to ensure that happens.”
